The Swiss No. 1 staved off a fifth set with a narrow win in the fourth-set tiebreak.

“It feels great,” Federer said. “It was so close toward the end…Robin started to play better and better as the match went on. I thought [the weather] was cold, it felt like being at home from Switzerland.”

Djokovic said he looked forward to facing the Swiss.

“It feels great,” Djokovic said. “I mean, I haven’t done that in the past three Grand Slams this year, so mentally was very important for me to overcome today’s challenge and to be able to win quarterfinals and to get to the semifinals first time in the Grand Slams in 2009. So now that I’ve done it I feel kind of a relief, and I hope I just can continue playing well and challenge eventually Federer if he gets to the semifinal.”

Djokovic beat Federer earlier this year on hardcourt at Miami and on clay at Rome.

Gael Monfils on watching compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga losing on the TV in the player’s lounge prior to his match with Rafael Nadal: “I was pissed, because, you know, if we can both do, to be in the quarterfinal, for sure French guy will be in semis. \So I was like, fuck, I need to win to do the fight.”…

James Martin of Tennis.com: “The rankings system has her relegated, inexplicably, to the No. 2 spot. But Serena Williams has been the best player on the planet for a decade, and she’s showing it again at the U.S. Open.” — Inexplicably? Here’s the explanation: she loses early at virtually every tournament except the Grand Slams. Explained?…

RAFA KISSED BY LUCK — How sad was that incident where the fan was able to run right up to Rafa on court Tuesday night and give him a kiss? What if that was some insane Swiss Fed fan with a knife ala the Monica Seles incident? Tennis would be rocked, and Rafa would be in the hospital. Sadder still was the ESPN slow-motion replay where you see the guy dash out of the crowd, and the overweight, middle-age “security” person reacts but is too slow to keep up with the young trespasser. Thank goodness that guy didn’t have bad intentions…

The Serena Williams vs. Kim Clijsters semifinal at this year’s US Open will feature two defending champions. Williams won the title last year, and Clijsters hasn’t played the US Open since last winning the title in 2005. This last occurred in 1972 when defending champ Billie Jean King beat 1970 champion Margaret Court in the semifinals. Court did not participate in the 1971 US Open…

Well played Federer! Soderling was playing awesome tennis in the fourth set (that’s all i watched). It’s great that Federer managed to finish the fight in the fourth set, else there would have been a tough fifth set for sure as i felt Soderling’s game was just peaking.
Federer is getting even tougher mentally than he was prior to this year :)

It’s true about the Rafa-kissing incident; that freaked me out after I saw replays of it. And then there was that jimbo guy who put the hat on Fed at the FO.

The security at the slams maybe needs to beef up, or beef down, as the case may be: “the overweight, middle-age “security” person reacts but is too slow to keep up with the young trespasser.”

————————————

As for Djok looking forward to facing Fed, the answer you posted above, was in response to the journalists asking if it was “good to be back in the semis”. But he did also say the following:

“Q. What do you wish to make better for the next round?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I just need to be ‑‑ if I play with Roger, you know, we don’t need to talk a lot about him. His records in US Open, we all know his style of the game. I have been playing against him many, many times and a lot of different kind of surfaces.

There is no secrets in each other’s game, so I just ‑‑ it’s a matter of good day. I hope I can have a good day and concentrate, and physically I’m going to have enough time to recover and be ready.”
—
And earlier he said this:

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don’t think you can always ‑‑ you can ever get your game to the perfection, you know. Only if you’re Federer. (laughter.)
—-

“RAFA KISSED BY LUCK — How sad was that incident where the fan was able to run right up to Rafa on court Tuesday night and give him a kiss? What if that was some insane Swiss Fed fan with a knife ala the Monica Seles incident? Tennis would be rocked, and Rafa would be in the hospital. Sadder still was the ESPN slow-motion replay where you see the guy dash out of the crowd, and the overweight, middle-age “security” person reacts but is too slow to keep up with the young trespasser. Thank goodness that guy didn’t have bad intentions…”

Was it a guy or girl that kissed him? Anyone know where I can see a replay of the incident?

Are security staff armed with handguns? If they are, it would take some fanatic to stab a player, because they know they’d get shot. Who would be willing to die for such a cause? This isn’t religion, just a sports player.

“What if that was some insane Swiss Fed fan with a knife ala the Monica Seles incident?”

ROFLMAO :-) Now this is what I call a true Tennis-x.com staff’s humour! Anyway, I bet that, even if the guy had the knife and succeeded, the knife wouldn’t do much damage to Rafa. Like with Chuck Norris, it would most probably bleed to death :-) Just kidding…

But seriously, Monica Seles must be shaking her head in awe! It’s just sad when you see how easily can one breach the security and literally storm on the court… Seems like nothing has changed since that fateful April 30th 1993…

Holy Crap Shaky! I don’t like watching boxing, but that was HILARIOUS. And bizarre!

I always thought the streakers were good for a laugh, but when they get up that close – like that dude with Fed at the AO or Rafa here – it is a little unnerving considering what happened to Seles. Maybe over-reacting, but ya just never know with people.

Okay – that 22 consecutive Grand Slam semi-final appearances for Roger Federer set me to wondering – how many of the 128 men entered in this year’s US Open Mens Singles draw had even PLAYED in the last 22 Grand Slams? Who has been skilled and healthy enough to be able to play at least one match in each of the Grand Slam events over the last 5 1/2 years?

So I put on my nerd hat and looked up every man in the draw and here are the players who have played in the last 22 Grand Slams, including this year’s US OPEN – In brackets besides their name I have put the number of semi-finals each player reached –

Grand totals? Out of 128 players, only 10 have played the last 22 Grand Slams. Of these 10, four have reached at least one semi-final. Of these 4, two have reached more than one semi-final – Gonzalez, with 2 and Federer, with all 22.

Draw your own conclusions, but you have to think this record is going to last FOREVER!

“Draw your own conclusions, but you have to think this record is going to last FOREVER!”

I agree. This record is even gonna be harder to break than his GS record, which I think will last for a few decades.

And to think that Rafa, the only person among current players too even come close to Federer’s league, has a consecutive semi-final appearance streak of 5 (from AO 08 to AO 09) and that streak is now broken.

Serena has won all the Majors. Henin has not won Wimbledon. She made the Final there twice, losing to Venus and Mauresmo. If Serena wins this event she’ll have 12 Majors on her balance sheet compared to Henin’s 7. So it’s no real stretch to say overall, Serena’s accomplishment’s resound a little wider, and a little louder, than Justine’s.

After the generation of Graf and Seles, the best female player in her generation is Serena. Henin comes in only second to her…several steps behind. You can mention Serena’s name along with Graf, Seles, Navratilova and Evert but Henin does quite belong to that echelon.

While I agree that there was a security lapse, Americans seem to be far more paranoid about fans coming up to players. There has been numerous occasions where fans come up to players and nothing has happened, and only 1 occasion where something has happened. However, as a society, we’ve gotten pretty paranoid about the worst things happening, which is why kids can’t walk to school anymore, kids need child restraints, and so forth.

If you want to think about it this way, why would a crazed fan who had a vendetta against the player risk needing to get close to a player to harm them when they could do it at a fair distance away. That would be far more shocking. The odds are still far more in favor of a someone being a streaker than a psychotic fan out for blood.

One should note that in both occasions, Federer and Nadal brushed off the incident trusting in people’s better nature than their worse. Nadal even seemed slightly amused by the incident.

Rafa didn’t seem to mind the kiss very much. He was actually trying to get to the guy afterwards to give him a hug or something, but they took him away, Rafa was just smiling and didn’t care. I think Safin or Roddick would have whacked the guy.

The tennis-gods have the most twisted sense of humours….bringing Soderling back from a 2 set demolition to who knows what had it gone to a fifth set! I believe in the sod’s ability’s & despite the 0-11 H2H, the actual sets are usually quite close, especially in FO 7 wimby where it’s the sets are usually 7-5, 7-6 affairs.

I braved the first set demolition, then on to the second set. Granted, the Sod improved in the 3rd (or rather, the windy conditions calmed down & aided his game better)…..I had predicted that the Sod would manage to steal a set this time round….but after those 2 sets & seeing Fed 4-0 up in the tie-break, I for one called it a night….switched off the teevee & hoped for Sod’s revenge at a future match. The match was done & dusted in straight sets, Mirka was taking her last snaps, packing her camera & making calls to the nanny, Pat & John McEnroe had long stopped commentating on the match & were fondly remembering their days of glory.

…..Only to find out that it infact went to a 4th set tie-break & having watched the review, anything could have happened & gone either way. Of-course I remember the famous (or infamous for Roddick) 2nd set wimby tie-break, but i didn’t foresee how the Sod could pull off a roger against roger himself in that 3rd set tie-break at 0-4. lol. For sure, it ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings.

I understand reviving oneself from a 2 set deficit, but for even Fed & Rafa, this is usually after closely contested sets where one loses in a tie-break or loses a single serve at 40all. What Soderling tried yesterday was something else, but thank goodness for the swiss maestro, it’s all shoulda, woulda, coulda……

Congrats to Roger for not losing his cool at the Sod’s force after that 3rd set….I suppose this is what makes him & Rafa great….what my dear Tsonga & Monfils should learn….had it been Tsonga in roger’s place, he could have completely lost the plot at such an opponent’s comeback.

Nowadays, the only person in soderling’s way at a GS event is a certain RF. My fortune teller crystal balls say that he’s definitely getting Roger in their next meeting, but only IF it’s a best of 3. So should this highly anticipated meeting come before AO, it goes to the sod, but should it happen in AO, am afraid he’ll have to waitcome AO, should they meet, I’m afraid normal service will resume. But again, it ain’t over till it’s over, so I bin my crystal balls.

I TOLD YOU SO! FEDERER HAS AN EASY DRAW! BUT WITH THE WAY HE PLAYED, SODERLING WOULD TOOK HIM TO FOUR. I ALSO SAID THAT THE OTHER DAY. MURRAY MIGHT GET BEATEN! Anyway, Federina would gets in real trouble playing against Djokovic!

I also said that, Roddick would not be in the final. Man! I should I put my money on those sporting bets! lol Djokovic has a pretty good chance against Fed Allstop in the semi, there are pretty good chance a repeat of the 2008 semi-final of the Australian Open! lol

No, the Williams sisters fail every time substantial competition comes along. During Hingis’ dominance (1997-2000), they were shaded. I might add that Hingis beat *both* Serena and Venus in the 2001 Australian Open. Capriati won a few during her comeback as well. Before Henin emerged, the Williams sisters dominated (esp. Serena) for a couple of years (particularly around 2002). But Justine was remarkably consistent. I think in 2006, she made every GS final (winning the FO). Not winning Wimbledon doesn’t take away from the 7 slams she won in a very short space of time (Ken Rosewall’s inability to win Wimby doesn’t take away from his greatness; nor does the fact that Borg, Mac, Sampras and Connors failed to win career slams take away from theirs). Henin had Federer-like consistency (albeit not to the record-smashing extent Roger does). Now Henin is gone, the Williamses are winning again, although we’ll see if Kim can’t do something about that. Frankly, the Williams sisters ain’t all that. As soon as *serious* competition comes along, they wilt.

This could be Djokovic’s tactic against Federer. Serve well, and get everything back on Federer’s serve. To make Fed Allstop to goes for his serve. And get him into double faults. And chase on everything to frustrate Federina. If not to beat him, just to wear him down for the player would be in the final. lol

While what happened to Seles is obviously scary, I too think that there’s a bit of an over-reaction to the whole Roger FO & Rafa US open incidents. This sort of thing happens all the time in other sports, especially in football/soccer. And in athletics for the marathon runner where the fans are literally by the roadside stretched for the whole 42 km. Also in tennis, it’s actually quite common with other players in outside courts but only makes the news & a whole load of furore ‘coz it’s happening to rafa & fed on on centre court.

If they are going to be serious about it, then they oughta report it whenever it happens to all players. The fact they it’s only reported when it’s a Fed or Rafa shows me that they (whoever’s in charge of security) don’t think it’s a big deal but leave it to the media & commentators to have their news field day.

A whole load can be put into secirity but if someone wants to harm a player, no amount of security will stop it, afterall, it doesn’t have to be a stabbing….guns can be sneaked in you know.

Federer should be in draws of where all the young guns are, instead of playing Soderling, Haas, Roddick or the players who are allergic to him in their entire careers over and over. He won most of his Slams for beating them over and over.

“Serena has won all the Majors. Henin has not won Wimbledon. She made the Final there twice, losing to Venus and Mauresmo. If Serena wins this event she’ll have 12 Majors on her balance sheet compared to Henin’s 7. So it’s no real stretch to say overall, Serena’s accomplishment’s resound a little wider, and a little louder, than Justine’s.”

I’m not saying Serena isn’t the most acomplished female tennis player of the decade, I’m saying that she hasn’t been consistenly the best for a decade, which is what Martin said. There has been a couple of years where Henin totally dominated.

ESPN preview to the Cilic-DelP match:
Tallest Quarter-final in Grandslam history.

I understand channels/commentators trying to create a big deal out of everything & pointing out all types of histories occurring in the tennis, but of all inane ones, this one takes the cup for me. lol

soderling’s game really seems to match up well with fed. he did start laying some big bomber serves down in the last 2 sets though. it was an interesting dynamic in match – totally demolition for the first 2 sets and then super competitive in the last 2 – usually it’s the flip.

rog was lucky to get out of there in 4 sets.

thanks gordo for your nerd analysis. really puts that semi final record into perspective. like darren cahill said to roger last night “explain how that is even possible”

I was noticing yesterday that for the women’s quarter/semifinal matches, nearly everyone of them has a “back story”. There was Melanie’s “Believe”/ Cinderella tale, then Kim’s Baby / Comeback Queen tale, then Wickmayer’s “moving” and tragic story about the loss of her mother and dedication to the sport. But what was interesting was when they switched to the men’s there was basically none of that – just more tennis analysis and stats reporting and such. This was when the 2-Mac team and some other guy were at the desk. They do a much better job of commenting on the men’s matches imo. But anyhow, those “featurettes” can be quite inane and definitely repetitive if one is watching a lot.

Henin did dominate for a while but so not like Serena. Serena’s domination was far greater than Henin’s ever was. Serena once held all 4 majors at one time.

Add to the fact that Henin is gone but Serena is still winning slams. Taking into account the ups and downs over a decade, Serena would have my vote. Henin if she was still playing might be, but apparently her body can’t hold up. Guess Serena’s like Federer’s body and game have stood the test of time.

That was on overkill on the Oudin promotion by the network. Could they not think of anything else to generate interest in the US Open? Ofentimes, dumping so much hype on a youngster backfires because they get derailed. I hope it does not happen to her but we will see. Now is when the strength and values of those around her such as her parents, coaches, etc become very valuable. Believe, which is her slogan, should not turn out to be “believe the hype”.

Polo I’m just trying to figure out who the “young guns” are? Gulbis (?), Cilic, Monfils, Querry, Del Potro? The only one of those three that’s probably gonna give Federer a match is Del Potro and he’s 5/6 in the world, he’s a quarters matchup at earliest.

I can’t think of any “young guns” that are going to hurt him in a 5 set match. I supppose Querry has a game to hurt Federer on a fast surface if he’s having a really great serving day?

Who are these imaginary people you want in his draw? He can’t face top 16 guys until the 4th round, top 8 guys until the quarters… if you could build a mathematically possible draw for him, who goes in it?

Round128: Gulbis (I think most people thought this was potentially the roughest 1st round matchup any of the top 16 guys got)
Round64: ___
Round32: ___ (someone ranked outside the top 30)
Round16: Cilic?
Quarters: Del Potro (this one I think is the toughest 5-8 matchup he could get, but you could put Roddick here)
Semis: Nadal?
Finals: Murray?

“For me it wasn’t a problem,” Nadal, who appeared unruffled, told reporters about the encounter. “The guy was really nice. He was a great fan, he said ‘I love you’ and he kiss me.”

The fan faces criminal charges. If convicted, he’ll have to pay a fine and serve one year in jail. I believe, with Nadal’s testimony, as in his interview, and if the fan’s a first time offender, his charges could be reduced to just a fine and/or maybe probation.

I know that this could have probably been a serious attack, but nothing happened, and I’m hoping the fan is not sent to prison for his moment’s indiscretion whereby he threw caution to the wind and did the unthinkable. Probably, Rafa could seek the indulgence of the court on the guy’s behalf.

Rafa didn’t seem to mind the kiss very much. He was actually trying to get to the guy afterwards to give him a hug or something, but they took him away, Rafa was just smiling and didn’t care. I think Safin or Roddick would have whacked the guy.

Rafa says he was try to stop the guy being arrested because he didn’t mind a fan coming up to him.

Polo: “That was on overkill on the Oudin promotion by the network. Could they not think of anything else to generate interest in the US Open? Ofentimes, dumping so much hype on a youngster backfires because they get derailed. I hope it does not happen to her but we will see.”

Indulge them — It’s been a long time since we’ve had a young woman in the QFs other than the Williams sisters. US tennis is sadly in need of more female players who can play the game.

I saw Connors and JMc in a discussion on the Tennis Channel last night. Their discussion surrounded the lack of male US players in the second week and Roddick’s draw. They felt Roddick had the toughest draw, and JMc stated (not verbatim) that no one wants to see a 6’9″ tall guy in his draw. They apparently feel, as I do, that the taller guys have an unfair advantage. For example, they have about a 6+ foot span in their reach off of both wings. In order to avoid their reach a player has to go for angles at all times, and that’s not an easy task. Anything up the middle will be severely punished, and anything dropped short, they’ve only to take a few steps forward and are right there to hit the ball with power and then some. OY VEY. I’ll say it again, put them in a league of their own, viz., Tour of the Giants.

No no I agree with you Polo. Sorry I should have directed my response at Rick.

I’m just trying to figure out who we’re even talking about when we talk about “young guns.” Like who are these young people who are contenders that aren’t in the top 16 already? Who has the game to bother really any of the top 4 guys in an early round?

I thought soderling was a fantastic quarters matchup, so I figured by this point nobody was still complaining about the draw. Rick is really something special, isn’t he folks?

Brady: What do you know about the law? I speak from experience, get it!

jane: You’re welcome!

“I agree with your comment thus – ” if the fan’s a first time offender, his charges could be reduced to just a fine and/or maybe probation.”

LOL, jane, it’s not as simple as that hon, we could agree all we want. However, if Rafa could seek the court’s mercy on behalf of the fan, the charges will probably dropped. I’m sure Rafa wouldn’t mind interceding on the fan’s behalf, but if the fan has other convictions he’ll have some problems.

Shaky: Soderling is a threat to any player for a few reasons. He’s 6′ 6″tall, and has that reach I’m harping about, plus he’s a great mover, a huge server, and has excellent ground strokes. He’s a very difficult player to beat. He virtually goes on a tear during the indoor season. I would not look at any player’s draw with Soderling in it and think they have an easy path, no way.

Von, when charges are dropped -i.e., if Rafa did intercede on behalf of that fan – that means there is no punishment whatsoever right? Well, if that’s the case, then I suppose that would be fine. However, in my opinion, maybe a small fine or some amount of probation or community servise is in order to deter this guy from leaping bounds to kiss Rafa whenever he seems him in the future, lol. The $5000 fine the article mentions seems like way too much though.

Brady: At least I have logic, what do you have, garbage? I must be stating something right, because I noticed you stop talking about Federer’s alleged ‘tanking’ after I told you to call me when they drag you before a Disciplinary Committee to prove the nonsense you expounded. And, stop using the information I just put out on probation. That’s where I’d like to put you with a muzzle over your idiotic mouth.

jane: Yes, If the charges are dropped, then there will be no punishment. It all depends on what Rafa does, and the magistrate judge’s leniency. The magistrate could be lenient and just impose a fine if he’s a nice guy, or he could be a toughie and fine the guy plus put him on probation. I agree $5,000 is a huge fine, and it could be wittled down to $300-$500. As I said, it’s all dependent on the mind-set of the judge. OY

Brady: At least I have logic, what do you have, garbage? I must be stating something right, because I noticed you stop talking about Federer’s alleged ‘tanking’ after I told you to call me when they drag you before a Disciplinary Committee to prove the nonsense you expounded. And, stop using the information I just put out on probation. That’s where I’d like to put you with a muzzle over your idiotic mouth.

This is the look people give when they read one of your Roddick excuse posts….

Fed’s serve has just become the hugest weapon for him in many ways: he hit 28 aces in 4 sets last night, he won 86% off his first serves and 56% off second serves. He is not as strong at returning, judging by the year’s stats anyhow, as some nor as he used to be, but his serving more than makes up for it. If he is that consistent in his service games, it makes him really tough to beat. It’s like it has to happen during tiebreaks and/or if he begins to hit more errors than his opponent or something. The opponent has to not only protect his own serve but has to play a very clean match to have a chance at winning.

The top guys below Roger should step up their second serves. Many of them -Murray, JMDP, Rafa, Verdasco, Djoko – are good returners, so if they could secure their serves they’d be okay. Rafa and JMDP are the best in that group of securing their own service games, and likely it’ll be one of those two in the final to face Fed.

Do yourself a favor by saving some time and energy, and get this into your sick head ASAP, I NEVER look at your links. You know what, you are one wicked and cantankerous $%^^**(). What is it with you? Is your life so miserable and in need of attention, that you stoop to harassing other people and making a nuisance of yourself? sheesh. This is ridiculous, it’s now progressed to not about Roddick, but anything and everything I write now.

I mentioned Nadal’s incident and you’re putting down my remarks as if I don’t know what I’m talking about. then you make fun of my profession. You’re ankle biting anything and everything I write. Is this some form of sick pleasure for you? If it is, then I’d suggest you seek the help of a good shrink. Ignoring you makes no difference whatsoever, you insist on coming after me with unjustified attacks. I’M SICK OF YOU, just leave me the hell alone!

I come here to have some fun not to argue with a VIRAGO like you.
___________________
jane: Thanks for the info on the matches. I have a dental appointment OY VEY time, and am hoping I’ll be able to see Rafa’s match.

Federer’s serve was a big part of what helped him win Wimbledon again. It is the most under-rated part of his game. Time and again he served him self out of trouble.

It’s not the fastest serve but it’s placement and spin make it just as lethal as any of the guys who routinely serve bombs in the 130-140 mph range. His 2nd serve is the best in the business, better than Roddick’s imo.

jane: “Fed’s serve has just become the hugest weapon for him in many ways: he hit 28 aces in 4 sets last night, he won 86% off his first serves and 56% off second serves.”

After Fed lost at Miami he stated he’s going to work on his fitness and his serve. I suppose he’s cognizant that his return game is not as strong as it once was, therefore he’s trying to get cheap points from his serve.

What’s of interest here and something I find amazing and kind of ludicrous, that in the past posters used to knock and put down the the big servers by saying they get cheap points off of their serves, and their games is all about the serve. However, there’s now a shift in fans’ thinking and an acceptance also, that it’s alright for the top players to be reliant on their serves and/or use it as a weapon. It’s unbelievable how times have changes and thinking also.

Do yourself a favor by saving some time and energy, and get this into your sick head ASAP, I NEVER look at your links. You know what, you are one wicked and cantankerous $%^^**(). What is it with you? Is your life so miserable and in need of attention, that you stoop to harassing other people and making a nuisance of yourself? sheesh. This is ridiculous, it’s now progressed to not about Roddick, but anything and everything I write now.

I mentioned Nadal’s incident and you’re putting down my remarks as if I don’t know what I’m talking about. then you make fun of my profession. You’re ankle biting anything and everything I write. Is this some form of sick pleasure for you? If it is, then I’d suggest you seek the help of a good shrink. Ignoring you makes no difference whatsoever, you insist on coming after me with unjustified attacks. I’M SICK OF YOU, just leave me the hell alone!

For those who’re complaining about Fed’s “easy draw”, that “draw” and much more will come in the ATP World Tour Finals/Tennis Masters Cup. RF has already won TMC 4 times. Now only if the TMC was best-of-5, that would shut up the anti-RF naysayers. Another possible difficult draw for RF:

but it’s difficult to find anyone (except the top 4-6) who wouldn’t lose to The Master. My only increasing worry over the months is that RF is making way beyond excessive use of the backhand slice (especially unnecessarily for returning) and it’s only working half of the time.

Yes tennies bullies, he’s such a phony, he acts like he wants to win all the tournaments he plays, which is also very egoistic of him. He has some balls… Does he not think that everyone else deserves a trophy.

Don’t be so negative man, everyone would enjoy a Rafa-Federer final but I sure hope that’s not what you’re praying for. Anyway, your boy has to take care of Gonzo and then probably Del Potro befoe any of this matters. Should be fun to watch.

The men have them too….there’s Fed with the ’emotional exhaustion’ after FO, i.e. the reason he wasn’t supposed to win Wimby (hello, that’s why he skipped Halle)….& now, the babies have come, he’s supporting his wife, he’s had a busy summer etc, he MUST fold at some point…..they forget he already did at Montreal! The US Open is now a whole new start. lol.

Then they did one of Nole reaching the finals of I dunno, like 4 master finals this yr & winning none? Then they go like, ‘What must djokovic do?’…then analyze & counter-analyse what’s going on??

A few minutes ago, they’ve just done a ‘Nadal the grinder’ special, full with safari/wildlife/African drumbeats in the background! They say he grinds & then some more, won the AO, & then the consequence…the injuries… (a James bond like suspense/disaster soundtrack here)….and now he’s back!!(more safari/wildlife/african drumbeats). Lol.

For Roddick, the whole wimbledon success was looped over & over & we’re constantly reminded of the no. of fans he’d won from that performance. Oh, & the endless praise of larry stefanki’s effect on him….oh, the improved backhand, ‘soft’ hands at the net, 7 things like ‘i never imagined Roddick had such a shot in him’ etc. lol.

Then there’s the Dent story line, Querry’s summer success, & Blake for am not sure what (I just remember the hype). Also Haas’ injury-ridden career….’but he’s just being so positive blablabla’ before a list of all his injuries over the years is read. & Hewitt’s surgery, drop in rankings & now the continual rise in ranking. Now, there’s the whole ‘hard-hitting Chilean with a fiery temper’ thing going on Gonzalez before his match.

It’ll be interesting to see how the weather turns out to be for later today. For the 1st match, heavy winds are forecast (20+ mph)…that’s crazy. With more experience, I’d think JMDP will handle it better.

For the 2nd match (15+mph winds) and 50% chance of rain. If it rains and it the match is not completed today, it’s going to be bad for Nadal (I know I am making conclusions here, be never once has Gonzo looked like he can beat Fed or Nadal; I think Nadal is fit enough to pull through with little difficulty). If the match goes on to tomorrow, it’ll be like 3 five set matches in 3 days then (assuming he gets to the final). Roger or Djoko will consider themselves very lucky here.

Von says:
“…Soderling is a threat to any player for a few reasons. He’s 6′ 6″tall, and has that reach I’m harping about….”

He’s actually 6′ 4″. Most male players are now around between 6′ to 6’4″. The likes of Roger & Rafa at 6’1″ are now on the average side. Murray himself is 6’3″…Roddick 6’2″…Monfils 6’4″
(Can be checked on ATP websidte player profiles)

So unless someoone like Soderling is meeting some like Davydenko, his height barely gives him any advantage ‘coz his height is quite on the normal side. But obviously if someone is 6’6″ & over, (DelP, Cilic, Karlovic, Isner, Querry), then the height advantage can be used….but I can hardly call it unfair, imo, ‘coz there movement is impeded, therefore balancing out the height advantage.

“if roger and rafa get to the final. rafa will win.
roger better hope that rafa gets knocked out first.”

This post just shows how little you know about tennis or either player. The US Open hard courts are by far Rafa’s worst surface. Roger is a five time defending champ while Rafa never even made the final before.

And believe me, now that Roger has a career slam, he wants nothing more than to beat Rafa several times to erase the only blemish on his resume that is their H2H.

to fed is afraid: OK, fine. Roger will “choke” against Rafa. I would expect Rafa to beat Roger all the time being that he is five years younger and at 23 should be at the peak of his form. It would be a big shame if Rafa could not beat somebody considered old in this game. Rafa should beat Federer all the time now and start collecting major wins so that he could come close to his record number of 15 majors. Do you think he could win 15 in his career? I would be happy for him if he does because he is a nice guy. But can he do it?

Ok this is like the 10th damn time this has happened. The set ends and CBS cuts to the desk where PMac and Dick Enberg are going on and on about why they knew cilic winning the set was possible, and how one break will do it in every set…

and we miss the break in the first game of the second set. For god’s sakes, leave it in the booth at Ashe so we can see the match in the background at least. Seriously why do I need to see Dick Enberg’s mug while Cilic is breaking JMDP again? Why? WHY?

They have done this countless times and it’s inexplicable. Don’t tell me the camera man needed to grab a bite right then, and don’t tell me you can’t just point it and leave it for 5 minutes. Heck, have PMac grab the guy a sandwich if necessary. They’re KILLING the tennis.

Cilic is playing great…comeback/monkey off back win against Murray going to skyrocket his career?
DelPo doesn’t look good at all. And his body language Oy Vey!
It’s crunch time for DelPo…A test of his mettle for sure. He’ll have to remember Robin last night to look for inspiration….

it’s alright if cilic becomes the overnight star, if not quite like oudin’s Cinderella story.
we have known all along he was good. it was a matter of when, and it has turned out this is his time. just have to accept it and applaud his success.

Del Potro has had much better results, both at slams and especially this hard court season, right?

I had Del Potro winning the bottom half but that was more because I didn’t trust Murray (or Nadal) than any other individual factor. I confess I like that Del Potro is a freakish athlete for his height, but now that I think about it Cilic moves like a normal guy and is covering the court better.

Maybe I didn’t give Cilic enough of a shot, or enough credit for slapping Murray around (thought that was mostly about Murray, really).

Is Cilic really this good or is he just getting a lucky break each set BECAUSE I SURE COULDN’T TELL YOU how he got that break! (Thanks ESPN!)

yeah but dePo is still a set down and a break down. i have lost my hope on dePo in this match. cilic is just playing the best tennis. next to fed. if he wins today which is most likely he should go all the way. i may be rooting for him in the next match if it turns out to be not against rafa.

If Rafa comes through Gonzo either Cilic or DelPo on HCs aren’t great match ups for him.
The power, serve and reach of those guys can really hurt Rafa, but, Rafa is Rafa. I won’t put anything beyond him. Still, it will be Rafa’s stiffest test so far.
Fed experienced it yesterday when Robin started firing away. They have so much power, hit it so flat, it’s touch to get good septh and feed off their speed. This is what Rafa does best agains other hard hitters not hitting so flat, like Gonzo, Monfils and Verdasco.

He has more time to bite the ball creating those wicked angles with his FH. Against the Gullivers he’ll have a tougher time cause they can hit through Rafa.

Meanwhile DelPo is upping his level. Good to see him being more energetic.

i would put gonzu in the same group as soderling, dePo, and cilic in flatness, above them in outright hitting. gonzu does not wait to line up the ball and if his forehand is clicking no one can survive. one-handed backhand is unpredictable by nature and add ultra abruptness to gozu’s backhand. rafa will have either extreme hard time or an easy time depending on how consistently gonzu can hit.

strong start from dePo in the third. this is the dePo i have known. he scared the hell out of me until he leveled 3-3 in the second. since then how many games in a row has he won? 5 or 6? that gives me some peace.

hey been there, done that…Hi and cheers to you mate/gal/youngster/old geezer/martian???

Good to see DelPo raised his level, but Cilic went where exactly? Would have been nice if he were to make a match of it but it’s a one-way street. Can’t see him get back, buy you never know. Go Marin!!!

cilic’s serve has gone way off. his unforced errors gradually increased.
he just missed forehand in the corner and got broken in the opening game of the 4th set.
nobody saw this coming before that turnaround. clic of the first set and first 4 games of the 2nd set just vanished suddenly.

Dunno what it is but Croatian players don’t excell in the mentality department. Great players, but for some reason they lack true mental strength to get through “dirty” situations.

I’m thinking Ljubicic(getting to number 3, where is he now?), Ancic(unbelievable talent, but not mentally strong and injury prone), Ivanisevic(what a game he had, but until Wimby ’01 where everything went his way, he wasn’t mentally tough) to name a few.

Goran Wimby ’01 was the only exception I think and also that year his mentality almost had him lose, but it was good the sentimental favourite pulled through.

I am very impressed with Juan Martin. The way he has matured as a player the past 2 seasons is remarkable. A force to be reckoned with, And I doubt he’ll relinquish his place easily when breaking into the top 3…

I know it ain’t over till it’s over, & I should have learnt my lesson after yesterday’s Fed-Sod match, BUT, here goes…..congrats to Del-Potro for such a wonderful win. (serving for the match at 5-0 4th set)

Cilic will learn he lost in 3 sets at the Aussie Open so this is progress. His first quarterfinal all of that. Del Potro got slaughtered by Fed down under, came close in Paris, both guys have work left to do, but New York could complete his training and progress arc if he beats Roger in the final.

He learned enough to beat Murray and reach a quarterfinal. Federer crashed out to Corretja in his first slam quarter in 2001 and did the same to Henman after beating Sampras at the 2001 Wimbledon quarters. Players can have let downs after an upset and can freeze up when the thought of winning becomes more than a fantasy. Cilic will be fine.

Agree Jimbo, Cilic will be fine. Let’s hope he learned from today he’s going to have to fight harder to win these matches against the top guys. Alone on talent won’t cut it.
Federer learned this and started to work harder at the mental and physical part to be able to go deeper and sustain a better level during the slams.
Fed was only 19 when he lost to Corretja at Roland Garros, who was a true great clay court specialist and experienced player and to Henman at Wimby…a veteran and previous 3 time semifinalist in his home-slam.

Let’s hope Marin will go on and become tougher and can make some more steps from now on. Would be nice to see!

Gonzo of course is exciting, but is so many times unable to control jis aggression. Handing too many gifts to Nadal and you can expect Rafa not to give any back. Rafa did well there to take the breaker.

He’s the smarter player again. But don’t see a differing tactical game than against an other right hander with a dangerous forehand. He’s heavy spinning the balls deep to the Gonzo BH, also serving exclusively(maybe except 1 or 2) to Gonzo’s BH.

Against Nadal you just can’t afford to play three outrageous shots at clutch moments. No surprise Rafa 1-0 up. Come on Gonzo, you need the second set to make it a match.

As much as Gonzo has been the agresser player today, I’m yet to see him play as agressively as he did when he beat Murray at RG. That day, his forehand, was “nuclear” as jane adequately put it back then.

If Rafa wins the match, and we’re still a long way from that, but if he does, he’ll have to play A LOT better to stand any chance against JMDP.

Right now my prediction for the final are Fed and JMDP with Fed winning in straights.

Agree Kimo. And because of Juan’s wingspan and height the kickserve out wide on dece court isn’t as effective as it is against the smaller players.

Also I think JMDP knows he’ll have the advantage game wise against Nadal on fast hardcourts. It will be down to execution for him. Mentally there is none tougher than Rafa, but JMDP is very strong in that department too. I’d take DelPo in 4 over Rafa and Fed in 4 over Novak and in 4 over Juan Martin

For some reason, because of the deep high spins(can’t think of any other playing hitting the baseline so many times) he pushes opponents deep behind the baseline forcing them to play the ball longer as they would used to be making the margins for error smaller.

Fed stays on the baseline taking the ball much earlier and refuses to be pushed back so he can stay on the offensive.

If he’s sharp, like he has looked so far(bar a little hickup in the Hewitt match) and his serve remains this good I can’t see Rafa beating him

The “Rafa is in Fed’s head” phenomenon will only come into play if Fed start spraying too many forehands and gets many break points which he can’t convert(first set Roland Garros ’07)

been there, done that @ 2:27 – well, I know all those mens’ back stories (twins, injury comeback, wimby success in particular) but I’ve not seen the featurettes you describe for the men. Maybe I’ve just been missing them. But the women’s ones have been extremely melodramatic! LOL.

Oh well, must leave this office so can get home and catch some of Rafa on the tube.

OH NO! I hope Rafa/Gonza are not delayed too long by the rain. The same happened to Rafa last year here. It’s like slam weather gods never favor the guy. I agree with Kimmi – resechule, use more courts, whatever … in order to plan for weather issues like this. AND/OR GET A ROOF~!

AO this year Nadal was playing much better and Fed’s serve wasn’t there. Even so it was 5 sets. If they were to meet this year, Fed has a full advantage this time, unless he really has a mental thing with Nadal. The pressure will definitly be on him and losing US open to Nadal, post injury and with abdominal pain will not look good…

But it will be a great match for sure and they both will have to earn it. But going from the timeline of the past 3 months I guess it’s really Rogers to lose. It would be a huge upset for sure….but hold on a minute,

I wish there was a youtube video of what Fed did in his match during Soderling. It was one of the sickest things I’ve ever seen him do. I think it was in the 4th set. He missed some forehand that Soderling returned and Federer caught it with his racquet in the blink of an eye. It was insane. Soderling’s shots aren’t exactly moon balls, but Federer just caught it with his racquet. I was speechless. It was awesome.

Polo: „OK, fine. Roger will “choke” against Rafa. I would expect Rafa to beat Roger all the time being that he is five years younger and at 23 should be at the peak of his form. It would be a big shame if Rafa could not beat somebody considered old in this game.“

Sounds like someone’s already building up excuses for Fed’s (possible) loss. Make no mistake, it’ll be a LOOOT of fun on Sunday ;-)

Hey I don’t know if you guys are getting bombarded with the same espn commercials but mgd64… how the heck are they making beer that tastes like beer with only 64 calories? The only light beer I can stand is amstel.

Veno: „Ouch, this makes Andy Murray’s loss even more painful. He really had a bad day at the office. Again a player gets a big scalp only to lose the next round…..So disappointing“

LOL! What match were you watching? He literally executed Murray on that day! Yeah, it was a bit strange that the Scot didn’t put up a better fight, that’s true. He played without any desire, as if he wanted to leave the court ASAP, but that’s not Cilic’s fault. You usually play only as good as the opponent allows you, and Cilic didn’t allow him anything. And disappointing? LOL! Give the guy a break! Even if he went away in the 2nd half of the match, he still gave JMDP a fight, so leave him alone, pleeeaaase. He doesn’t give a damn about what you, me, or anyone else think is disappointing…

As long as they finish this match tonight… call me crazy but I’m pretty sure this rain delay favored Nadal for treatment reasons. I don’t know anything about tendonitis, but it’s really rough having a muscle pull or strain particularly in cold weather. His abs I’m sure appreciated the 20 mins.

Woz/Wick and Williams/Clijsters should be interesting matches; unfortunately I am not sure how competitive the final will be, esp. if Serena makes it past Kim – could be another rout final grand slam for ladies. Serena just overpowers the others but maybe Kim can win….?

“That confidence will quickly drop as soon as he sees Nadal on the other side of the court…”

Didn’t see that in Madrid last time they played. Nadal has to be at his best to beat Fed, and I’m sure you’ll agree to that. And hey, Fed has to be at HIS best to beat Rafa. But the way they’ve played this year at the Open, Fed has been the better guys and playing on these fast hard courts suits his game more than it does Rafa’s.

rafa is physically fine. he can hit his shots. they are going in. His power, anticipation, and range are all there.

Coordination between them seems to be fractionally slower on occasions. a better player like fed and dePo could exploit it.

his serve is easily exploitable.
as much as i like him and want him to be in the final rafa may not survive dePo’s consistent blistering forehand, huge serve, and defensibility.
also keep in mind dePo is hungry. and he has beaten rafa on hard court last two times they played.
i give dePo 55-45 edge.

crazy game summary:
first double break/ set point for rafa.
gonzu saves the 1st with 132 mph and another big serve gives him deuce. but misses backhand slice long. 3rd break point for rafa. weird let point play. gonzu digs out of that. back to deuce. great forehand. called out. gonzu challenges. it’s in. game point for gonzu. nice drive in the corner. 5-5.

Sure a draining semi in Madrid, but if they were both normal speed players it would have lasted 3 hours.

We’ll never know how much less than 100% Rafa was in the Madrid final. Saw the whole match and the first set he was fine. Could be he ran out of steam of course but remains speculation. Same at Ozzie Open, he still beat Fed in the final, extra day rest or not

Kimo – oops 3 sets yes, but still you must admit that was a brutally physical match.

“And FYI…they don’t get 24 hours to recover after a US Open Semi. :)”

Yes but they play EVERY OTHER DAY up until then at GS (best 3 of 5 vs 2 of 3). Who can say which is more grueling on the men’s side.

On the women’s side, I would definitely think that playing every day for a week is more difficult than every other day for 2 weeks. Call me crazy but why has it been difficult for Serena to get deep in these other week long tournaments? She is 26 after all.

Latest info I read is that they’re looking into the possibilities to techically build a roof over such a big stadium and they’re giving a timeframe in which they state they expect to have a roof over Ashe in twenty-fourteen.

and bebe, I think it’s not so much the problem of the 5 day in a row best out of 3 style being so gruelling, but the full and long season schedule and sometimes the lack of rest between the Masters Series events and so little time between French and Wimby…

I thought Venus was 28 and Serena was 26? Oh well, anyway harder to recover the older you get. Veno – I am not getting into the equal pay debate as I have already stated my position about it time and time again (pre-your time on this blog). My point is the difficulty of back-to-back days for a week versus every other day for 2 weeks.

They have day and night sessions unlike pre-1988 Oz and Wimbledon and FO today so normally the rain is a non-issue unless it hits at the very end. CBS may want the men’s final Monday anyway so they can broadcast 2 NFL games on Sunday.

They did play 1 WNBA game there… so it is multipurpose to a minimal degree. Cincinnati puts sand on the Grand Stand court and has a beach volleyball stop which just is wrong at every level. If Cincy put in a Royal/Real/Court tennis facility that would be cool.

Veno says: “Interesting question imo not to be solved doing just the math…”

LOL you are such an analytical guy. Yes, strictly by the math, it’s essentially the same. however dealing strictly with the women’s events (premier, mandatory, whatever they are called now), if you have to play EVERY SINGLE DAY (or night) for a week best 2 of 3, I think that takes more out of a player than EVERY OTHER DAY for 2 weeks, even given that semi’s and final are back to back. Hence one of the BIG reasons why Serena does not do well at the other non-GS tour events. Just my opinion.

Dan martin says: “Cincinnati puts sand on the Grand Stand court and has a beach volleyball stop which just is wrong at every level.” What is wrong with that? Angel stadium in CA (where my sister works) fills the baseball stadium with dirt and holds a huge motorcross event every year and it’s fantastic. They are attempting to have a continuous revenue stream.

As for Cincy having building a new stellar, roofed stadium, don’t think it’s in the cards yet. The sponsor hasn’t put up the bucks at this time.

I’ve never seen anyone overhit so much and miss so many opportunities as Gonzalez today. Return of serve is so so poor and he’s only hammering (and missing some but enuf) to hold his game. There’s no way Gonzo is going to win this match unless he returns well.

No if I want to see women in swimsuits there are other ways to do this (although as the father of a daughter we ought not objectify women as I will be fending off teenage boys in 13 years right ?). NASCAR is like a video game where you can die not really a sport. So yeah volleyball is above NASCAR, golf, bowling and billiards. Jumping is more at a premium in volleyball than most sports. Hitting a baseball is really hard but on most counts I would put volleyball ahead of baseball. Still, not my thing. I am far from being objective either (there is a long and totally uninteresting story at the root of my distaste for volleyball for anyone other than maybe a family member or two of mine).

Yep, but you could see it very clearly at AO 2009, Rome 2006, or Monte Carlo & Hamburg 2008 ;-)

„Nadal has to be at his best to beat Fed, and I’m sure you’ll agree to that. And hey, Fed has to be at HIS best to beat Rafa.“

Agree.

„But the way they’ve played this year at the Open, Fed has been the better guys and playing on these fast hard courts suits his game more than it does Rafa’s.“

The surface should certainly present Fed a better chance to beat him as, say, the clay in Paris. That’s true. But it won’t matter a bit how he played en route to the finals (provided he gets there, of course). Especially against Nadal it certainly won’t.

„Any if you guys remember the Agassi-Fed quarterfinal in 2004? That was the windiest match I ever saw.“

Doom…I sense doom. LOL. Darn rain. I hate when this happens. It skews the schedule, recovery time, all of it. And if the organizers knew rain might come, as Kimmi said above, postpone a juniors’ earlier round match and put Rafa/Gonza quarter final on another court earlier in the day … or something? I mean, plan for these things. Why leave it and risk it? I wonder what the players think in these situations.

Jane – well they have skirted disaster with the rain for the entire tournament & once again – it’s all about money – They sold night session tickets so no way are they going to move Rafa’s match to daytime in Armstrong unless there is a hurricane on the radar (last year). They just won’t do it.

They need to do what Agassi suggested – have the finals of the various hard court events men’s and women’s both get network coverage from CBS, put the women’s semis on Friday, men’s semis on Saturday, women’s final where the men’s final is currently on Sunday and then a Monday prime time men’s final.

Dan MArtin – “So yeah volleyball is above NASCAR, golf, bowling and billiards.” And let’s not forget poker, which they have been airing on ESPN2. Sheesh.

Yes, if you want to see women in swimsuits, you can pick up a copy of SI Swimsuit issue. I believe there are even some tennis players in there. So you have a personal adversity to volleyball as a “sport”? LOL I feel the same way toward NASCAR.

Dan – yeah the “Super Saturday” format is a killer for the players. They need to ditch it and rethink the problem. I just don’t see them putting a roof on Ash with the current cost projections. Better to put one on Armstrong. Ash holds 23,000 – what is the capacity of Armstrong?

I like playing volleyball but am not a fan of watching it and its hard core players irk me. This is a smaller story. I played in a league once and got a bad set but instead of just bumping/passing a free ball over I hit a spike like a backhand overhead rather than the normal motion. It won the point but they all gave me crap for it being unorthodox, showing poor fundamentals etc. The other story is too biographical for this forum so I should probably drop it.

This doesn’t make sense to me. Building a roof is expensive and for the US open where rain is not that big of an issue, it may not be necessary. But why the heck don’t they invest in some rain covers? As opposed to having millions of ball kids, towels, blowers etc on the court for several precious minutes…beats me.

Blank – If you have a cover, would have to dump the H2O somewhere when you remove it (carefully I might add or you end up with water on the court anyway. They have some sort of drainage system on the court but it’s not like a natural surface (grass or clay) that has an ability to absorb some of the water. They’ve tried the cover thing and found it’s just as fast & efficient to use the blowers & humans.

tennisbebe – Good point. However, using proper methods I think having a cover will help start the match lot sooner than what’s happening now. I’ve spent quite some time in the hard court stands watching humans and machines trying to dry the court when the sky has long cleared up.

I am sure they have pretty good drainage system on the court. Water will not get on the court if proper cover is used and the court is properly covered. I am sure there are ways to remove the covers without watering the main playing area and around. If water spills over at the edges, that is lot easier to dry as opposed to trying to dry the whole court.

I think the break is going to have to help Verdasco. Rafa is not 100% on his serve; in fact his first serve is coming across the net at girl speed. However, it is still effective against Gonzo. If he can come up with a way to combat it then he has a shot. If not, then it will be Nadal who will be fodder for Del Potro, as long as Delpo can get off to a fast start, unlike his normal play.

I certainly think Fed’s draw has been tougher the last few years and this USO is no different. He plays Soderling in the QTR’s, Djok in the SF and either DelPo or Nadal (I’m assuming Nadal will beat Gonzo) in the final. That’s a tough line up of matches to win a major.

I’m not convinced that Fed’s going to romp over Djokovic depsite Djok’s poor year. I think Djokovic has something to prove. His game matches up pretty well against Federer. He moves well, he can do damage from both wings and he has a potent serve. And he has some net skills. I like his ability to hit balls up the line. This gives him the ability to blow open a rally at any time.

As for the guy who “kissed” Nadal, it shouldn’t have happened. I don’t agree with the statement about there being too much paranoia. The fact is, little is done until something really terrible happens. In tennis, the really terrible thing already happened when Seles was stabbed. Once that happened, some very serious steps have to be taken to protect the players.

And you can’t rationalize insanity. You can’t assume that if the guy had really wanted to hurt Nadal that he would have done it from far away. People hurt each other at close range, they do it from far away. People do what people do for their own reasons.

We are talking about entertainers that are in the public eye. I am certain that they are faced with issues of stalking and death threats all the time. When a tennis player steps on a tennis court, they are pretty exposed. There’s a certain amount of risk they have to accept to do their job. I just don’t think they should have to incur anymore risk than is necessary.

Thank Veno. Less than half, hmmm. But a better experience. Have you ever attended a match in Ashe? I was there for the final weekend in 2001 and took a hike up to the top section to check it out – ridiculous – it’s like an American football stadium around a tennis court.

Hey bebe, no, I haven’t had the privilige of watching a match in Ashe. Been in some great and enormous stadiums already(compared to which Ashe looks small) but they weren’t tennis stadiums of course. I saw some clips made from the top stands and put on Youtube and it looks gargantuoun.

“This could be Djokovic’s tactic against Federer. Serve well, and get everything back on Federer’s serve. To make Fed Allstop to goes for his serve. And get him into double faults. And chase on everything to frustrate Federina. If not to beat him, just to wear him down for the player would be in the final. lol”

LOL at the crowd & family/friends (of players in their boxes) at the ad-Fed point at 6-5 40-40 with Djokovic serving. Fed’s camp think the point is lost, Djok’s camp think he’s going to win it, only for him to mis-hit….then the yays from camp-fed & noooo from camp-djok.

A rather flat match so far for me, even though the scorelines suggest it to be more competitive than the Nadal-Del.P match. Maybe it’s ‘coz I set myself for OTT expectation considering that these two, win or lose, usually have very entertaining matches whoever they play.

Never say die… but at the moment, Del.P must be mentally preparing to meet Fed.